Mariah Rush

2 weeks ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Mariah Rush

We break down complex business news to help you understand how money moves in Chicago and how it affects you. West Lawn residents will no longer have to venture outside the neighborhood to buy groceries after a renovated Save A Lot opened Wednesday morning. A line of eager shoppers were outside the store, including Mary Kay Rosado who was excited to be at the opening.

2 weeks ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Mariah Rush

Last year was rough for Rose Hanks: The Navy veteran and her children struggled to find steady housing and ended up homeless for six months. “I’d tell anybody that 2024 was one of the worst years of my life,” said the 42-year-old, who was a Navy deck seaman. Now, Hanks has the first job she’s ever really loved, along with steady housing. She works in the Loop as a lead barista at Veteran Roasters, a small nonprofit coffee company dedicated to hiring at-risk and homeless military veterans.

1 month ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Matt Moore |Mariah Rush |Anna Savchenko

And Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all who celebrate (or are still recovering from weekend revelry). In today’s newsletter, we’re catching up with local trailblazer Peggy Montes who, at age 88, is “still a beautiful lady in motion.”Plus: Cubs beat reporter Maddie Lee on the team’s time in Tokyo so far, the Field Museum’s world-famous fossil collection and more community news you need to know below.

1 month ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Mariah Rush

Peggy Montes met artist Margaret Burroughs when she was in her art class at 17. Burroughs took Montes under her wing, and after graduation, Montes “followed her to Michigan Avenue” to the space where Burroughs initially co-founded the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center. She remembers Burroughs as a “surrogate mother” who helped shape her career.

1 month ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Matt Moore |Mariah Rush |Lauren FitzPatrick |Chip Mitchell

Two years ago, we introduced you to Kavia Simmons, a local coffee entrepreneur who was excited to take her online store, I Love My Coffee Black, to the next level as a coffee bar inside the Save A Lot at 832 W. 63rd St.Amid promises of hiring community-based and Black vendors, store owner Yellow Banana said she could use existing cafe space in its former Whole Foods building. But Simmons has since walked away from the deal, disgusted, after spending thousands on inventory.